Participation in the fishing rodeo costs $10 per person. The scales will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 16 and 17 at the Knights of Columbus home. The awards presentation is set for just after the scales close Oct. 17.

The event raises money for the St. Eloi Knights of Columbus Council No. 8779, which works to benefit St. Eloi Catholic Church, local schools and the surrounding community.

This marks the 25th year for the fishing rodeo and the 17th for the festival, said Nancy Theriot, a member of the St. Eloi Ladies Auxiliary.

Theriot and her husband, Dale, a member of the St. Eloi Knights of Columbus, chair the festival, which includes carnival rides, games, food, music and auctions.

The musical lineup features several musicians with ties to Bayou Dularge, including the bands Tet Dur and Hwy. 315, Nancy Theriot said.

“The children on this bayou especially enjoy the rides,” Nancy Theriot said, adding that for some local children, this marks their one chance all year to experience carnival rides.

Auctions, scheduled for 5 p.m. Oct. 16 and 2 p.m. Oct. 17, offer more homegrown attractions in the form of 30 or more quilts handcrafted by members of the local Sew Sew Good Club.

The annual gathering serves as more than entertainment. The event gives festivalgoers and Bayou Dularge natives alike a chance to enjoy Bayou Dularge culture, organizers said.

“It just gets everybody together,” said Burgard, who has volunteered at the event for about 10 years.

For some locals, the fair represents a reunion.

“Many people have left our bayou because of flooding, but they come back for the festival,” Nancy Theriot said.

The festival also provides an important reprieve from the relentless disasters affecting Bayou Dularge in recent years: flooding from Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008, and this year, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

After Hurricane Ike, organizers initially felt unsure about holding the festival, but decided to hold the event to give the community a needed distraction from storm-related stress, Nancy Theriot said.

“They said they needed that break and needed that camaraderie,” she said. “People thanked us for having it. They said it gave them hope.”